Bhutan Trip Dispatch
May 27, 2008 – The village of Trongsa and the Dzong
Our hotel in Trongsa has commanding views of the Dzong from the balconies off each of our rooms.
Caroline, Ang Temba, Wally and Tsering, our Bhutanese guide went to visit the Dzong.
Caroline tries on a new Yak Hair hat at a shop along the road
We saw the largest Cypress tree any of us had ever seen. Locals say the tree is as old as the Dzong itself, which was built in 1644.
Trongsa, previously Tongsa, is located in Trongsa District, Bhutan. The name means "new village" in Dzongkha. The first temple was built in 1543 by the Drukpa lama, Ngagi Wangchuk, who was the great-grandfather of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, the person who unified Bhutan.
Trongsa Dzong: Trongsa Dzong, built in 1644, used to be the seat of power of the Wangchuck dynasty before it became rulers of Bhutan in 1907. Traditionally the King of Bhutan first becomes the Penlop (governor) of Trongsa before being named Crown Prince and eventually King. Built on a mountain spur high above the gorges of the Mangde Chhu, the dzong controlled east-west trade for centuries. The only road connecting eastern and western Bhutan (the precursor to the modern Lateral Road), passed through the courtyard of the dzong. At the command of the penlop the massive doors could be shut, dividing the country in two.
Higher yet on the mountainside is a large watchtower, called "Ta Dzong", to guard the dzong from enemies.